After years of branding himself as the premier West Coast gangsta attraction, YG has been faced with a career crossroads. It’s a First Rap World problem if you will — he simply needs to expand his fanbase.
His debut studio album was a near-production masterpiece and its follow-up revealed his thuggery could evolve to a political and even intellectual level. Which sets the stage for his third Def Jam goaround — STAY DANGEROUS — to combine all the existing positives and propel the Bompton city council president into a new echelon. It’s just a shame that moment will have to arrive on the next project as YG spends too much time rehashing tropes he’s generally stereotyped for.
It’s without question that STAY DANGEROUS’ most disappointing attribute is the smattering of hits that were predestined to flop before they left the studio. From out the gate, YG held rank as an unsuspecting hitmaker. According to fellow Cali rap stalwart Glasses Malone, the Young Gangster’s first single, “Toot It and Boot It” is a Top 5 Los Angeles Hip Hop song. And between past winning records like “My Nigga” and “Why You Always Hatin?,” no one will ever question what a live YG show can bring to the table. The Quavo-featured, panty dropper “SLAY” works just as well as any R&B-drenched rap cut these days. But a clunker like the k-less “TOO COCKY” — which loosely borrows from Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” (yikes!) — shows a clear lapse in both focus and creativity. “SUU WHOOP,” a pulsating whisperer that triples down on affinity for all things Crimson, complete with a red dot shot at Tekashi 6ix9ine, also falls flat.
Even the rambunctious and star-studded “Big Bank” (with assists from 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj) feels like the lowest common denominator of an obvious radio reach.
Deep album cut “Pussy Money Fame” criminally underscores the LP’s theme. Whether he’s muttering, “She take dick the long way, bad bitch get it all day” on the puzzling “CANT GET IN KANADA” or spouting “Hold up, do it smell like flower?/That pussy limited edition, Eddie Bauer” on the sultry “POWER,” YG allows him to fall into sex-focused pitfalls with lazy lyrics for most of the album. Perhaps STAY PROMISCUOUS would have been a better title?
STAY DANGEROUS is not a complete rinse cycle, though. DJ Mustard, who produced nada on 2016’s Still Brazy, reunites with his former ink pu$ha and lays cinematic and thumping framework for much of the project (with compliments to Mike Will Made It, TM88, MP808 and others). And album anchor “BOMPTOWN FINEST” literally serves as YG’s finest moment as an MC. Over Mustard’s sparse guitar licks and sporadic bass quivers, YG gets introspective; speaking to dead homies while retracing his hood ties as fame and notoriety crept in to alter his course.
It’s acute storytelling like this that separates a YG from the “fake Bloods” he lambasts in every other rhyme. And STAY DANGEROUS could have benefitted greatly with more personal touches as opposed to the conventional gangsterisms that bulk up the album.
YG is better than this.
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Another poor album ! Everybody sound the same ! Wack beats and lyrics!
Trash!!!! Very disappointed as his first 2 albums were solid.
YG should be embarrassed to drop garbage like this.
Shit is trash
FirSt two albums were great. But this album was disappointing, I tried giving it a chance and maybe it would grow on me. But idk man, it’s very bland
Someone should fix the album cover.
Westcoast is like an asshole. Only crap comes out from there.
This album isn’t top 5 by any stretch of the imagination but the people who can’t like it must’ve never heard a YG project before 2014 because this album sounds like Just Re’d Up 3 to me
Decent Album but definitely a step down from the last 2 albums. Krazy Life is a classic
Its sad to say YG went full mainstream on this one. Tons of trap beats and mega dumb down lyrics. We dont want that from YG. We want the Bay / G Funk vibe beats and his story telling style thats unique.
I fuck with YG but this will easily fall into my list of the most disappointing albums of the year for me. How he fell so low after his first two solid studio albums is beyond me. Very sad. One of the things that I respect about YG is how he is unapologetically West Coast. I got that with his first two projects. I rarely get that with Stay Dangerous.
Actually this is pretty dope.
This is his worse album by far. Disappointed. His first one was a near classic.
This album is painfully bad, he gets killed by his guest features on his OWN album! He has the worst verses on his album, painfully bad to listen to it and total immature outdated subject matter makes this album a waste of time.
My Crazy Life was great had that homie
feeling about it but this album is just rushed… Jay Rock’s Redemption is by far best album this year!
YG is just a copy cat with bullshit lyrics and no originality. It’s time that real hiphop comes back.
not related to anything, but YG should fire his barber.. he has the worse haircuts out
I’m a new YG fan, so I think this album is fire. However, I could understand how his core fans were let down a little by mediocre bars. The beats are hard too. If you don’t like it now, it’ll grow on you later… stop hatin in the meantime tho.
I agree that Jay Rock undoubtedly has the BEST album of the year thus far.